Celebrate
by michellephoenix275
Summary: It's been a few months since the Greeks and Romans teemed up with their godly parents to defeat Gaea. Where do they go from there? One-shot story. Spoilers for "The Blood of Olympus" ahead. *PJO and HOO belong to Rick Riordan, not me.*


_**Note :**_ __ _This is a one-shot story (okay, so I might be adding like one or two additional chapters. Not sure yet. But so far, this is just a one-shot). It takes place Around November/December after "The Blood of Olympus". Yes. There are spoilers for the end of The Heroes of Olympus series. You've been forewarned; don't come crying to me afterwards. Well. About that. You can come crying to me over other things. Like the story in general._ _Please_ _tell me if I've messed up some part of the plot, because I haven't read Blood of Olympus since it came out. And please, if you have questions, requests, concerns, anything really, either hit me up with a message or leave a review. I live for reviews. Really, I do. So, come on, give me a breath of air, drink of water-leave those review. As always, friends, thank you for reading, and enjoy!_

 ** _Percabeth_**

Percy sat reclined on the couch in the library. He was ready _Heart of Darkness_ by Joseph Conrad, special Ancient Greek edition, while stroking his girlfriend's hair. Annabeth was laying with her head in his lap; she had fallen asleep on her sketchbook. Percy had recently learned that he enjoyed school, since Chiron had made a deal with his step-father Paul Blofis.

Goode High had become a special demigod and half-blood haven. Several new teachers had been added to the roster, included Coach Hedge, Mr. Brunner, and a handful of older Greek and Roman demigods. So far only a few Roman demigods were able to attend because of the distance from New Rome. They managed to have special classes taught in Ancient Greek and Latin, so that the students could read and write and actually learn the material more easily, as well as classes teaching Ancient Greek to the new half-bloods and to the Roman demigods, and Latin to the Greeks. Sure, there were some jerks in the school that made special-ed jokes. But they'd quickly squashed those jokes.

Through a *cough* series of strange occurrences *cough* Mr. Blofis had become Principal Blofis. Using his newfound power, he helped the Greco-Roman campers and teachers set up a sort of performance for the school—a chariot race, art show, poetry contest, hands-on trivia and puzzle challenge (which the Athena kids swept), and, of course, a staged battlefield showing off sword-fighting and martial arts galore. No one wanted to make fun of the hot, super-talented, totally-able-to-kick-your-ass kids anymore after that. The cover-story was they were from these two think-tanks, one where they used Greek as a first language, and one were they used Latin. Sure, it was a crappy excuse that Percy couldn't believe the mortals bought, but Hazel had helped with the Mist a bit. That girl had gotten great at manipulating it since after the Battle. It let them get away with their special classes, and allowed them to speak about battles, quests, and the camps without the mortals understanding. Her power over the Mist had also given them a way to hide from monsters. That many demigods in one place…without the Mist, it would have been a bloody mess.

The last bell of the day rang, signaling the end of their study hall period. At the sound, Annabeth jerked upright and let out a terrified scream.

Percy dropped his book and sat up, pulling her against his chest. The other students and the librarian rushed over.

"Percy!" Annabeth sobbed. "We were—we were back there, and—it burned. Gods of Olympus, Percy, yu were hurt again and I—" She couldn't form the words, clutching at his shirt.

Percy rested his cheek on her hair and rubbed her back with his right hand. With his left, he moved her hand to one scar, and another. "Look, see, all healed, Wise Girl." He soothed. Finally, he placed her hand at the small of his back, where his Achilles spot had been. "We're free of that place, and we'll never go back. It was just a dream." He began murmuring words into her ear in Ancient Greek, meaningless things, as the others looked on in horror and pity.

They had heard that the reason Percy Jackson hadn't been in school the previous year was because he'd been missing, but no one knew exactly what had happened to him. Rumor had it that he and his girlfriend had been kidnapped by some sort of cult (which wasn't far from the truth, honestly), and had gone through horrible things.

Annabeth calmed down after a few minutes, and wiped her eyes. Percy cupped her chin and lifted her head, giving her a signature smirk. Even after falling asleep and crying her eyes out, she looked beautiful. He kissed her forehead. "Come on, Annabeth. Today's martial arts practice. The others are waiting." They stood and she wrapped an arm around his waist as he grabbed their backpacks. "They'd be lost without their best Judo teacher. And we've got the younger students and Reyna's group meeting us here at four."

"I remember, seaweed brain." She said, pushing the nightmare away and focusing on her boyfriend's warmth, the smell of salt on his skin. "Will reminded me this morning at breakfast, anyway."

"Will's coming?" Percy walked them out of the building and down the hall to the gymnasium, easily switching over to Greek to avoid eavesdroppers. It had amazed him just how easily the language had come to him. He put almost no effort into it, and had been able to speak, write, and read it within just 2 weeks.

"He insists it is to keep us from maiming each other, but Nico has been in California for the last few days with Nyssa setting up our new portal thing." Percy nodded. It really was an amazing feat. Nyssa and the rest of the Hephaestus cabin had come together and created a way to teleport people from New Rome to Camp Half-Blood in a matter of minutes. Camp Half-Blood had been extremely wary of it at first, for good reason: It used a piece of the Labyrinth that was left over. It was a freak accident in Bunker 9 that led to its discovery—and to a very confused Hephaestus kid stumbling into a Roman bath. They knew the Labyrinth was too unstable to use on its own, so Nyssa had worked with the Athena campers to create a way to simply harness that power and create a new corridor—to create a _new Labyrinth_. Annabeth, of course, had jumped on the opportunity. It took two days of negotiating with the Romans to figure out _where_ to put their entrance. They wouldn't allow it within the Pomerian line, or within their field camp. But that morning had been the last day, the official opening ceremony had taken place over breakfast. Today, the camps were officially conjoined.

She was right, Nico had been short on time, having to go straight from the opening to school with the others, and hadn't had any time at all to spend with his boyfriend. "Which means those two will be joined at the hip and _not_ teaching the newbies how to defend themselves." Percy muttered. His voice wasn't judgmental, though. If he and Annabeth weren't two of the leaders in the fighting classes, he'd be spending the whole time cuddling with her in the bleachers.

 ** _Solangelo_**

Will dismounted the Pegasus a block away from the school and sent him back to camp with a handful of sugar cubes, walking the rest of the way. The second he stepped through the gates, he was getting all of the usual attention. He tried not to notice it, really, but they weren't even trying to be subtle. He rolled his eyes and squared his shoulders, sticking his sunshine-bringing smile on his face. If they wanted to look, they might as well get a show from him. He made his way inside, brushing past a dozen groups of wo or three mortal students each on their way out, every eye on him. He wandered for a moment, unfamiliar with the mortal school's Labyrinth-like hallways, before finally sighing and stopping a couple of older male students. "Hey." He said, smiling at them.

"Hey, man." They said, a little star-struck—or sun-struck, if you will.

"I'm a little tired of wandering aimlessly. Do you know Nico di Angelo?" he asked.

One of the boys cocked an eyebrow. "Goth freak? Yeah, usually hangs out behind the gym." He answered.

"Ah, finally. Could you point me in that direction?" Will said with a grin. They both pointed down the hall, where a sign conveniently pointed the way. "Ah, yes, thank you both." He walked away without another word. A gaggle of girls followed him as he made his way in, giggling as he swung through the gymnasium doors.

There he was!

Nico was sitting against the far wall, digging in his backpack, huge skull-shaped headphones covering his ears, hood hiding his face. But Will would know his Prince of Darkness anywhere. He walked up and stood directly in front of him, leaning back on his heels and crossing his arms over his chest. He stood there for a full two minutes watching Nico dig through his bag before the other boy noticed the shadow looming over him. He jerked his head up, pressing back against the wall, instinctually trying to put more distance between himself and the unknown entity. The second his eyes focused on Will's face, though, the change was instant. He reached up and slid the headphones off, tossing them carelessly to the floor and jumping up into Will's arms.

Will caught him effortlessly, swinging him around in a circle as he laughed before setting Nico down again and grabbing his face in both hands and kissing him hard. Nico grabbed the back of his boyfriend's head with one hand, tangling his fingers in his sunshine-colored hair, the other grabbing a belt loop and pulling him closer with a jerk. Will pulled away a fraction of an inch, letting out a small laugh. Nico wasn't usually the aggressive one, but they hadn't spent this long apart since…well, since they'd gotten together.

When they finally split, there was a small crowd of shocked students looking at them. "You, sir, are not to leave me alone that long again."

Nico gave him an impish grin. "Is that the doctor's orders?"

Will laughed out loud and nodded. "Yes. Also, mandatory monitoring, 24/7, until further notice."

Nico raised an eyebrow, pulling him even closer, until their hips were brushing each other. "24/7? Does that include when I'm redecorating my place, in which I live, alone?" Will nodded, Nico's eyes holding him, the feelings sparking in them keeping him in place and silent. "Hmm. I don't think I'll have a problem keeping to that prescription. What else does the doctor want?" His voice took on a suggestive tone.

"I, uh, I—" Nico laughed as Will blushed. The sound made a few people jump. They rarely ever heard the kid talk, and had _never_ heard him laugh, or even suspected he could. Will, on the other hand, knew that Nico usually only laughed for him, and that made his insides melt and his confidence soar. "I can think of a few other things." He answered, taking Nico's hand in his and lacing their fingers together. "But it might not be appropriate for present company." He purred, letting his body rub against Nico's lightly, enjoying the way his boyfriend's eyes dilated. He leaned down and whispered something in Greek in Nico's ear, and the son of Hades shivered. In that instant, every girl who was jealous of the goth kid became immediate worshippers of this new ship; they were just too perfect and gorgeous together for it to be otherwise. And, glancing around at each other and nodding, they made a silent vow to make sure nothing got between them on their watch.

 ** _Percabeth_**

Percy stopped them and leaned down to press his lips against hers in a soft kiss. Her hand rested lightly on his cheek. Her eyes sparkled as they separated. "I love you." He murmured.

"I love you too, dork." She answered before pulling away. They walked to opposite sides of the doors into the gymnasium, into the changing rooms. Yes, they could fight just fine in their camp t-shirts, jeans, and Converse. But it was so much easier wearing workout clothes. And, they wouldn't admit it, but they both loved the attention they got. They were both hot as Hades, and they knew it. So, when Percy stepped out in a pair of basketball shorts and a tight tank top, and when Annabeth stepped out wearing calf-length yoga pants and a sports bra with her long blonde hair in a ponytail, there were usually sighs of relief and grunts of jealousy from the inevitable small crowd that gathered in the bleachers. Today, though, there was silence. In fact, the changing rooms had been oddly quiet, and empty. It was enough to have their battle-honed senses tingling.

They stepped out cautiously, nodding to each other, and walked forward through the little corridor between the bleachers and the wall onto the main floor. They froze as the rest of the room came into view.

"Twelfth Legion!" Came a cry from a tall teenage girl with a long black braid hanging over her Roman armor, and a purple cape somehow flowing gracefully behind her inside the airless room. Beside her towered a boy—man—who looked to be of Asian descent, dressed similarly, with a bow strung over his back. Five immaculate groups of teenagers wearing Roman armor over black workout pants and purple t-shirts, wielding a gladius and a spear each, stood at attention.

As one, they chanted in Latin, "Ave, Percy Jackson, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion, hero of New Rome, son of Poseidon! Ave, Annabeth Chase, hero of New Rome, daughter of Athena!" The gymnasium shook with the sound of their voices.

Suddenly, Annabeth became a blur of motion. She let out a short, loud, "Hah!" and there was a thud. Unfazed by the flurry of action, Percy looked down to see Jason grinning back up at him, his glasses crooked on his nose.

"Bro!" Percy said, grinning from ear to ear and offering the blond a hand up. They hugged while Annabeth stood by with her arms crossed over her chest, shaking her head at them. Despite his intent to remain at Camp Half-Blood, Jason had been needed at New Rome, and had left as soon as school had started back up.

"Annabeth Chase, did you seriously just Judo flip _my_ boyfriend?" Came an indignant voice from behind and above them. There at the top of the bleachers, leaning over the side stood Piper McLean in all her glory, an eagle feather peaking through wild curls and tiny braids. Piper, of course, had gone with her boyfriend, refusing to be separated from him dare the Romans try to steal him back forever. "I thought you promised you only flip _your_ boyfriend like that." The girl was grinning mischievously. Her time in California seemed to have done wonders for her; she was positively glowing, with sun-streaked highlights in her hair. And she had grown, at least 2 inches taller, and infinitely more beautiful. She wasn't trying to hide the features her mother, the goddess of love, had given her.

"I believe those were your exact words." Agreed another voice. Reyna sauntered over confidently and grasped Annabeth's forearm in greeting.

"It's good to see you, Reyna." She answered, grin softening to a smile. It genuinely felt amazing to see her again, and Piper, and Jason, who was currently good-naturedly wrestling with her idiot of a boyfriend, headed straight for the ranks of Romans.

Several of the rank began snickering and acting as if they wanted to join them. A girl with a centurion's helmet and a cavalry sword strapped to her hip stepped forward. "Atten-tion!" She shouted. "Is that any way for soldiers of Rome to act?" They snapped back into position, and the room froze for a second.

"Oh, get off that high horse, sister." Nico called from the bottom row of bleachers. He was seated between Will Solace's knees, pressed back against his chest comfortably, their fingers laced together.

That was what finally broke them down. Hazel took her helmet off and put one fist on her hip, giving him a sassy look. "Oh? I could say the same, oh mighty king of ghosts." She mock-curtseyed to him.

Nico just shrugged. He was different with Will around. More mellow, like Will was all he could manage to care about. Will, on the other hand, seemed to absorb his snark when they were together. "No, no, no, no ghosts for him right now. Do you know how much of my effort it takes to get him back to normal after the amount of shadow-traveling he's done in the last 2 weeks?" They stared each other down, trying to hold their stern expressions.

Hazel finally cracked. "It's good to see you, Will. Nico looks happy." Will nodded. The Greeks in the bleachers took that as their signal, and rushed down the steps into the ranks of Romans, dodging swinging spears and shields as they greeted their friends, those who'd fought next to them in the battle against Gaea.

Piper squealed and ran right at Annabeth, attacking her with a hug. "All the gods, I missed you guys." She said as Annabeth laughed and hugged her back.

"You could have stayed here." Annabeth reminded her friend.

"I could have." Piper agreed. "But I'm closer to my dad now, anyway. And to Jason. Besides, hanging out with the Romans is pretty fun. They know how to party." She waggled her eyebrows and threw an arm around Annabeth's shoulders, and then Reyna's. "So how've things been going over at Camp?"

The demigods and half-bloods mingled and talked and laughed for a good half hour, reminiscing about this and that, before Percy and Jason, arms thrown over each other like the best of friends, stood at the top of a stack of tumbling mats. "Alright, everyone, we're pushing today's practice to tomorrow. Let's get back to Half-Blood Hill, and we'll talk over smores and ice-cream!" cheers rang out, and they began pouring out of the gym and toward their buses. There were looks of confused disappointment from the mortal students, but the followed in the exodus.

Reyna, Annabeth and Percy, Jason and Piper, Nico and Will, and Frank and Hazel were the last out, walking in companionable silence, glad just to be in the same room together.

There was a crowd in the courtyard, a ring of students around a cleared circle in the center. They couldn't see what they were circled around. As a group, they began pushing through, but, to their surprise, the demigods parted easily, letting them through. There was a stricken silence at the sight before them. There, in the center of the snow-blanketed school courtyard, was parked a motorcycle that looked like it was made completely of Celestial Bronze, and two ghosts. Well, they didn't look like ghosts. But that's what they had to be.

Upon seeing them break through the sea of faces, Leo straightened from where he was leaning against the bike—which was, of course, one of the several new forms of Festus the Celestial Bronze dragon. His companion slid off the seat to stand beside him. Leo's hands twitched nervously. "Uh, hey guys." He said, a little louder than he'd intended.

There was a sound of metal scraping against metal and leather, and there were suddenly several swords pointed at him. "Who are you." Percy's voice was cold, his eyes colder.

Leo put his hands out in surrender. "Whoa, come on, now, I haven't been gone _that_ long, have I?"

"You can't be…Leo is dead. Who are you?" Annabeth answered, brow creased in confusion and anger.

"Percy Jackson." The other girl's voice cut through.

Percy's eyes snapped to her, and his sword clattered to the ground in shock. "C-calypso?" He stuttered, taking a step back. "You—" He looked between her and Leo, and it all made sense in his head. That didn't, of course, mean that he wasn't angry. He shoved Leo's shoulder. "You couldn't have told us you went to get her?"

Leo sputtered as the others lowered their weapons, still wary. Piper's eyes were filled with tears. The son of Hephaestus rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, well, we didn't have too many chances. I mean, Festus brought me back while we were flying over Ogygia, and then I stayed to do some repairs before we could leave, and then we flew straight from the island to Long Island Sound, which didn't take that long, and we didn't think we should enter the camp without an escort, so we spied and found out to go here, and, uh."

"We burned a shroud for you," Came Piper's tear-choked voice. She surged forward and threw her arms around him.

"Why in Hades would you do that?" Leo asked as he clutched at Piper.

"Because you died." Nico answered, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "Hazel and I, we _felt_ you die."

"Besides that," Leo joked, cracking a half-smile as he was passed through several hugs from his friends and the others gathered closer. "I mean, yeah, I did die. But Hazel and Frank knew I had the Physician's Cure, right? Which, by the way, I would _definitely_ not recommend. The hang over so isn't worth it."

"You've been gone for months." Annabeth said as she surprised him with a warm hug.

"Time moves differently on Ogygia." Percy answered automatically. Annabeth shot him a look, and he blushed, not meeting her eyes.

"Oh, yeah, Percy was stranded on Ogygia, too, right?" Frank said helpfully, realizing the trap he'd walked into a moment later.

Leo turned on the son of Poseidon. "That reminds me, Perce." He reared back, and swung a perfect right hook at his face, connecting with Percy's cheek. Leo stepped back and shook his hand as Percy stumbled, held a hand to his cheek, and looked back at him. He hadn't tried to dodge, and he didn't look angry. Everyone else backed away quickly, though, fearing a fight that would quickly get out of control. "That, ugh, I thought that would feel so much more badass, was for leaving her alone." Leo said. Calypso stood behind him with a hand over her mouth, completely flabbergasted.

Percy nodded. He looked directly at Calypso. "I did make it part of the bargain, when I defeated Kronos. They kept their word on the other parts of the deal. I thought they had made it right with you, too. I didn't know."

"You didn't even think of checking on her?" Leo answered, feeling that rage fill him again. "She was alone, for ages. You said it yourself; time moves differently there. It felt like generations, for her. Alone. _Alone_ , jerk."

Annabeth stepped forward to defend her boyfriend. "He didn't _know_. And, to be fair, he didn't know where Ogygia was, and he didn't know how to get back there, since it was supposed to be _impossible_ , and he didn't have a whole lot of time before Hera kidnapped him for our recent little _adventure_."

Percy put a hand on her shoulder and opened his mouth to speak, but Leo cut him off. "Do you understand, though, what that was like, Perce?" He was on a roll now. "Could you understand that kind of utter loneliness."

"I can." Annabeth said, eyes dark, but with pain and sadness and fear, rather than with anger. She, too, looked at Calypso. "You cursed him. Well, you cursed me." She said. Calypso's eyes widened, and she shook her head in horror, but didn't deny it. "We met the arai in…when we fell." She couldn't say it aloud. Names had power, and she couldn't let _that place_ have any more power over her than it already did. "So, yes, I know how she felt."

Calypso stepped forward, one shaky step at a time. Then, surprising everybody, she enveloped Annabeth in a hug, a tear leaking from her eye. "I'm sorry." She whispered. "I never really wanted you to feel that. I never wanted anyone to feel it."

Annabeth shed a tear of her own and hugged the other girl back. "You didn't know." She said. "Nothing to forgive." They separated, and there was a tense silence for a moment, no one sure quite how to move forward from there.

"So," Reyna began. "It looks like we have two more things to celebrate tonight." Someone started to clap. It was quickly taken up, and cheers rang out, until everyone was laughing and yelling. Before they quite knew what was happening, the Seven plus Reyna, Nico, Calypso, and Will were lifted into the air and carried to the buses. They laughed and went with the flow as they realized they could finally celebrate the end of the war with Gaea.

"Festus!" Leo called behind them. The bike shivered. "Fly home, buddy!" With a sound like tearing metal, the bike expanded into a full-sized dragon before their eyes, took two bounding leaps away before jumping into the air and lifting off the ground with his huge wings, turning, and swooping low over their heads. "Let's go home." Leo said to his friends.


End file.
